20 Years Without John Candy

It was on this day March 4th, 1994, we lost one of the greatest actors of a generation in John Candy. Whatever film he was in he commanded your attention. His characters were so likable and genuine, he was truly one of a kind.

His work on SCTV put him on the map but his movies made him an icon.

Here are my top 10 favorite Candy Classics.

10. Hot To Trot. Bobcat Goldthwait and John Candy as a talking horse. Need I say more?

9. Who's Harry Crumb? It's cheese central but some very funny moments in this classic detective tale. Plus, it has Annie Potts at her hottest.

8. Brewster's Millions. John Candy and Richard Pryor try to spend a million dollars a day to receive even more millions. This is where I fell in love with his acting.

7. Cool Runnings. This was his last really good movie, in my opinion. It's the story of how the Jamaican bobsled team made the Winter Olympics in 1988. Mrs. Pants made me watch it this year and I didn't hate it.

6. Home Alone. John plays a small role as Gus Polinski, the polka king of the mid-west. He also goes on to tell a story of how he left a child in a funeral parlor, in his grief. The kid would be ok... after years of therapy.

5. Spaceballs. He plays "Barf" a Mog in this Star Wars spoof. See below if you don't know what a Mog is.

4. Uncle Buck. John seemed to do his best work with John Hughes. His getting questioned by Macaulay Culkin at the table is a classic Candy moment.

3. Stripes. He plays Dewey Oxburger and really helps make this movie the classic it is. This was before SCTV and one of his best characters.

2. The Great Outdoors. Dan Aykroyd plays a legendary douche-bag in this vacation getaway favorite. The "big bear" scene gave me one of the hardest laughs of my life.

1. Planes, Trains and Automobiles. This is a must watch every year at Thanksgiving. GREAT acting by Steve Martin and John, who you can't help but love in this role. The "pillows" scene also gave me one of the hardest laughs of my life.

One final tribute:

It says a lot about a guy, 20 years later people still appreciate his work. This was one of the hardest celebrity deaths to deal with that occurred in my lifetime. Thanks for the memories, John. Many great family moments were spent watching those movies. When he was gone, it was like losing a member of the family.

What is your favorite John Candy flick?